and another thing:

by the time the American government has extricated itself from Iraq and Afghanistan, the war efforts in the Middle East will have cost in excess of 3 TRILLION dollars.

Few of us can wrap our brains around that figure, so consider this explanation that I just saw in the new edition of Vanity Fair:

If someone gave you 3 trillion dollars and told you that you had to spend $100 million every day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and not to come back until you'd spent every single penny, it would take you a little over 82 YEARS. Think about that: $100 million a day, for 82 years. How are we EVER going to recover from this mess?

And to think the John McCain is willing to keep our troops over there for "150 years if necessary."

Remind me: WHY is Iraq our problem??